Hugo was dumbfounded.
Of course, Igeon hadn’t said nothing. It was definitely after being used as a skill once or so.
It was when his son had entered Igeon’s divine seat and was targeted because of a special skill.
‘What? Send Seongjae to the Sagittarius Seat?’
‘Yeah.’
‘What, are you uneasy with Seongjae in my holy ground?’
‘No. Not uneasy because it’s your holy ground, but as a parent, I’d like him to be within reach. So if something happens, I can fly right over. As a saint, you’d know instantly if something happens to the holy city, right?’
‘Oh. So if something happens to Seongjae, you just need to be able to fly over right away?’
‘What? Well, yes... but that’s impossible if he’s in another divine seat.’
‘You never know.’
‘What?’
That’s why he’d laughed that way back then, Hugo thought.
“Agh! The attack’s coming again! Aah, Dad!”
With his son’s voice, Igeon’s voice echoed in Hugo’s ears.
[Ophiuchus Seat has responded to danger to the holy city.]
[Skill activating.]
[If danger befalls the holy city of Cheon Seongjae, the skill auto-activates, so hang in there.]
Damn it!
At the same time, Hugo’s vision shifted. And in an instant, he appeared before his son.
Hugo had no time to activate a skill.
The fireballs flying at his son exploded on Hugo’s face.
Bam!! Bam!!!
It was fire magic.
“Aah, Dad!”
Of course, Hugo was a being who served the Sun God and possessed defense of SS rank or higher.
Those fireballs thrown by A or S ranks were child’s play.
But.
“Argh! No, damn it! Summon me with a word first!”
Well, whatever.
He’d been hit this much; he’d repay it a hundredfold.
“You dare target my son?”
Furious, Hugo summoned his bow.
At the same time, a black bow popped out from the clock and into Hugo’s hand.
[Wrath of the Sun God]
Fierce flames blazed up as if to sweep away the enemies.
But just as he tried to use the skill.
[Danger has been lifted.]
[Returning to original position.]
“?!”
Hugo’s body floated up, his shocked expression priceless.
“Ah, no! Wait! Let me at least attack... ugh!”
But as if telling him to get lost now, Hugo was brutally reverse-summoned.
The summoning was undone.
Whoosh!
Thanks to that, the mages looking at where Hugo had vanished were left dumbfounded.
What on earth had they just witnessed?
But it was brief.
“Cheon Seongjae!”
“Attack him!”
The mages’ spells continued.
“Damn!”
As dozens of enemy magic circles formed above Cheon Seongjae’s head.
[Cheon Seongjae has activated
[Cheon Seongjae has activated
[Cheon Seongjae has activated
[Cheon Seongjae has activated
[Cheon Seongjae has activated
Hugo was summoned once again before Cheon Seongjae’s eyes.
The summoned Hugo was seething.
“No, Igeon, you bastard! Let me at least attack... huh?”
The summoned Hugo screamed at the tidal wave crashing before his eyes without warning.
“Agh!”
Rough waves overwhelmed Hugo.
Of course, maybe due to the Sun God’s blessing, the water imbued with magic evaporated before touching his skin, but...
“Cheon Seongjae!!”
At his father’s rage, Cheon Seongjae behind him acted cute as if sorry.
“Sorry, Dad! If I get hit by that water, my mana gets sealed!”
“Then it’s okay for Dad to get hit?!!!”
“No! Dad wouldn’t be affected by that kind of magic anyway! You even evaporate soup when cooking sometimes, geez!”
“Cheon Seongjae!!!”
“Ah! Over there, sis is being attacked! Dad! Quick, Family Shield!”
“Wha, what?!”
Simultaneously, Hugo’s vision shifted again.
And this time, he appeared before Cheon Yuha.
A tiger’s fierce energy was threatening Cheon Yuha.
Kugugugung!
And Cheon Seongjae, who had teleported in front of his sister, must have activated the skill.
Cheon Seongjae slapped his dad’s back as if trusting him, and teleported his startled sister away.
“Dad! Fighting! You’re the best! A bit less than uncle, but kinda great! Awesome!”
“No, hey!!!”
Over there, he should be greater than Igeon!
But before he could speak, Cheon Seongjae and Cheon Yuha vanished.
At the same time, Hugo took on Oliver, who had attacked his daughter, and the black tiger’s energy with his own body.
“Ugh...!”
It was definitely heavy, unlike the child’s-play magic.
And unmistakable.
‘It’s the power of an unknown civilization.’
It was never the power of the Leo Seat.
And at a glance, the power felt similar to that of constellation gods, strong enough that he could sense an aura akin to the one in his daughter’s arm.
But.
“You’ve got some nerve taking a saint lightly!”
Furious, Hugo’s eyes flashed. Then flames began blazing fiercely!
At the tremendous flash as if the sun had been summoned, everyone screamed.
The ground split, and serpent-like crimson flames surged from the earth.
At the same time, his gaze turned to the unidentified tiger and the golden lion Steven.
“You damned cat bastard, I told you not to touch my daughter!”
Steven seemed unjustly accused. But murderous intent rose in Hugo’s eyes as he faced him.
He would never let him go.
But then.
[If you blocked it, return to your original spot quickly.]
[That’s not something you should mess with.]
“?!”
With Igeon’s voice, Hugo vanished again.
Hugo’s furious scream was a bonus.
And Cheon Seongjae, having teleported his sister away, landed on a tree.
“Sis, you okay?”
“No, I’m fine. But can you just use Dad like that?”
“Well, whatever. As long as it helps, it’s fine.”
“……”
Cheon Yuha gave her brother a look that said he was ruthless. But Cheon Seongjae didn’t care.
“Anyway, sis! Hurry!”
With that, Cheon Yuha’s eyes changed.
Yes, she couldn’t possibly miss the precious opportunity her brother and uncle had created.
Cheon Yuha drew out her power to its maximum and fired.
[True Red Flash]
Soon, her strike flew toward the Leo Seat.
Kwa-kwa-kwang!
[Evangelism 90% achieved.]
***
Meanwhile, around the same time.
Ophiuchus Seat’s second occupied territory.
It was the sanctuary in Hawaii where Igeon’s forge was.
There were Haley, the Scorpius constellation deity, the Ophiuchus Seat’s scribe, and Cheon Jiu.
And in the Ophiuchus Seat’s sanctuary, Haley’s scorpion subordinates were in a very awkward situation.
Well, it was fine that they’d unleashed their subordinates under the lord’s command, but.
[P-Princess. It’s getting dangerous now.]
[Indeed. No matter how you look at it, this is...]
At that, Haley’s eyes sparkled.
“What’s the problem with upgrading Igeon’s power!”
[What do you mean, problem! At this rate, the Scorpius Seat’s secret methods will be handed over to Ophiuchus Seat!]
Indeed.
At Igeon’s request(?), Haley was decorating the Ophiuchus Seat’s sanctuary.
Of course, decorating was a way to put it; in reality, she was designing overall security facilities, including traps, mazes, and prisons.
As the thief constellation, trap-making was the Scorpius Seat’s specialty.
Not even ordinary traps.
True to the reputation of a divine seat from which none who stepped in could ever escape alive, it was filled with poisons, death nests, mind rooms, and all manner of deadly traps.
Thus, the Scorpius Seat’s sanctuary could not be easily invaded by anyone.
And perhaps because he knew that power well,
before leaving to catch the red eyes, Igeon had told Haley:
‘I trust your skill, so I’ll make a request. Design the sanctuary’s security. Please.’
And hearing that, Haley couldn’t keep her senses.
‘The great Igeon asked me for a favor.’
He’d even said he trusted her skill!
So perhaps that was why.
“I must make this place even greater than the Scorpius Seat’s sanctuary! The world’s strongest security!”
[No, Princess! It can’t be greater than our own sanctuary!]
[Please come to your senses! You must not forget that you’re the Scorpius constellation deity right now!!!]
The loyal retainers wept.
Of course, Haley’s space-creation ability was outstanding. The trap spaces she designed with her extraordinary mind were difficult even for subordinate gods to escape.
Igeon’s choice was precise, if anything.
And if it were anyone else, perhaps, but for Igeon’s request, Haley wouldn’t pull any tricks.
And from their position, there was nothing bad about joining hands with Igeon’s divine seat, so it was all good.
But still.
[Just because Igeon-nim asked, you’re moving over all our sanctuary’s supplies too!]
[Indeed!]
The loyal subjects shed tears as they watched the scorpions steadily carrying over the sanctuary’s supplies.
Because it included ten years’ worth of food, books, mineral water, dishes, toothbrushes, toothpaste, towels, batteries—food and daily necessities.
Supplies from the Scorpius Seat were being moved to Ophiuchus Seat.
So they said, [What exactly are we supposed to use, then!]
“Use nothing.”
[Princess!!!!!]
And one person seemed to have attained enlightenment from that scene.
“Haley-nim... our Haley-nim...”
It was the scribe.
She despaired that the Haley she so respected had fallen, of all people, for Igeon.
But what was more despairing was the bible she had to manage.
Why?
[The Gospel of Igeon]
...
“What the hell is this damn page!”
She’d seen all sorts while stealing other bibles, but this was a first.
Other divine seats’ bibles were at least sublime.
But this cringe-inducing Gospel of Igeon by name alone, well.
......
The scribe despaired at the gospel book that had already grown to 50 pages.
“The bible isn’t for your fangirling!”
She wasn’t sure, but it looked like pages Cheon Seongjae had made on his own.
Surely because the scribe’s blood flowed in him.
The ability only a scribe could possess had been unconsciously displayed.
But whether the official scribe was distressed or not, Cheon Jiu was shocked seeing the page her son had inscribed.
She’d thought of more philosophical phrases since it was a holy book.
Cheon Jiu tried to follow her son’s phrasing.
“Should I fill the Sagittarius Seat’s bible like this too?”
“Don’t! Stop! Please!! This isn’t it!”
No matter what, the scribe was an outstanding writer.
Did she feel such bizarre sentences were against her pride as a scribe?
Unable to stand the sight, the scribe was ready to die.
And to correct this content into normal sentences, she had no idea where to even start.
“Bringing some weirdo into the holy city, that bastard honestly!”
She didn’t want to fix that bastard’s bible one bit, but she couldn’t bear seeing the great scripture turned into a fangirling notebook like this.
In the end, the scribe picked up her pen.
[The scribe refines the sentences.]
[Contribution rises due to the scribe’s labor.]
[Faith is very low.]
[0.00000001% divinity has been sent to the holy god.]
But just then.
Boom!!!
“!”
An explosion occurred in Igeon’s sanctuary. Startled, Haley furrowed her brow.
[Princess!]
Haley’s eyes, which had been blushing while thinking of Igeon just moments ago, instantly changed.
[Prin...!]
Boom!!
Haley, who had drawn her sword so fast it was invisible, swung it.
Boom!
At the same time, something fell onto the scribe’s and Cheon Jiu’s shoulders.
“Huh-uck!”
The scribe screamed.
A bug’s head rolled down with blood.
‘!’
When they turned their heads in surprise, behind them were monsters with their necks severed.
They had been targeting them.
Thanks to that, the scribe couldn’t help but be flustered.
“How could monsters be in the middle of the sanctuary...!”
Of course, the Ophiuchus Seat was still a nascent divine seat.
To discuss the sanctuary’s defense, it was still at a makeshift stage, but even so.
‘The Scorpius constellation god even said something about this divine seat.’
In fact, the scribe had encountered the Scorpius constellation god not long ago.
In a dream.
The Scorpius constellation god that appeared in the dream was hideous, but had clearly said this:
[Your new master is a being who will overturn the world.]
And hadn’t it given her something?
Of course, new master or not, she had no intention of following Igeon, but still, it was certain that Igeon’s divine seat, though small in scale, was no ordinary divine seat.
Hence she said: “There’s no way the sanctuary couldn’t sense an intruder’s presence!”
But Haley and her loyal subjects reacted differently.
[Princess! These bastards are...!!]
“Yes. They’re bishops sent by a monarch-class.”
“!!”
There were beings that had never appeared in the human domain.
And the majority of them were from the very center of the unknown civilization’s territory.
They were beings rarely seen even in the absolute entry-prohibited land now called the Black Zone.
And these fellows copied the power of constellation gods, ensuring they were never caught by barriers.
“Those who would never leave the Black Zone have come.”
[Then...!]
“The sanctuary’s security design must be changed from scratch.”
But what mattered now wasn’t that.
“We’re surrounded. Everyone, take up arms.”
(To be continued...)